NewJeans facts for kids

Quick facts for kids NewJeans
NewJeans in 2023 From left to right: Hanni, Danielle, Minji, Hyein and Haerin
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop pop R&B
Years active	2022–present
Labels	ADOR Geffen
Members	Minji Hanni Danielle Haerin Hyein

NewJeans (Hangul: 뉴진스; RR: Nyujinseu) is a South Korean girl group formed by ADOR. The group is composed of five members: Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein. NewJeans rose to prominence upon their debut in 2022 with their girl next door image and "easy listening" pop and R&B songs inspired by the music of the 1990s.

They debuted in July 2022 with the single "Attention", their first number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart. It was followed shortly afterwards by two other singles, "Hype Boy" and "Cookie". The singles were all featured on their eponymous debut extended play, released in August 2022. In January 2023, they released their first single album, OMG, to commercial success. It was accompanied by two singles, "Ditto" and "OMG". "Ditto" gained widespread popularity, becoming the longest-running number-one song on the Circle Digital Chart and the group's first entry on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.

After their successful debut, NewJeans received several rookie awards and were featured in listicles such as Time's Next Generation Leaders and Forbes's Korea Power Celebrity 40. Aside from music, NewJeans has sponsored and collaborated with several brands, including Musinsa [ko], Levi's, Coca-Cola, LG Electronics, and McDonald's Korea.

Name

The group's name, NewJeans, is a double entendre. It alludes to the idea that jeans are a timeless fashion item and the group's intention to carve a timeless image for themselves. The name is also a word play on the phrase "new genes", referring to the group ushering a new generation of pop music.

History

2011–2022: Pre-debut activities and formation

Prior to debuting with NewJeans, several group members were involved in television, music and dance. When Australian-born Danielle Marsh lived in South Korea, she was a regular cast member of tvN's Rainbow Kindergarten, a variety show that aired until 2011. She also appeared in the TV shows Jesse's Play Kitchen and My Heart’s Crayon. Hyein debuted as a member of the children's music group U.SSO Girl in November 2017 under the stage name U.Jeong, before departing from the group one year later. In December 2020, she joined the music group and YouTube collective Play With Me Club formed by PocketTV, and graduated from the group on May 3, 2021. Vietnamese-Australian Hanni Pham began performing in Melbourne as a member of the Aemina Dance Crew who covered the choreography of K-pop groups. Hanni and Minji made a guest appearance in BTS's 2021 music video for "Permission to Dance".

Preparations for a new girl group in collaboration between Big Hit Entertainment and Source Music began as early as 2019 under the direction of Min Hee-jin, who joined the company as CBO that same year and is widely recognized for her art direction as visual director at SM Entertainment. Global auditions took place between September and October 2019, and casting into the group commenced from the beginning of 2020. In late 2021, it was announced that the project moved to Hybe's newly established independent label ADOR, after Min was appointed the label's CEO. A second round of global auditions were held between December 2021 and January 2022, and the group's line-up was finalized in March 2022. Dubbed "Min Hee-jin's Girl Group" by several media outlets, the group was originally scheduled to launch in 2021 but was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022–present: Introduction, debut and Get Up

NewJeans' official logo

On July 1, 2022, ADOR teased the launch of their new girl group by posting three animated videos of the numbers "22", "7" and "22", fueling speculation that content would be released on July 22. The group released the music video for their debut single, "Attention", on July 22 as a surprise release, without any prior promotion or information on the group's lineup. The move has been described by Billboard as "risky-but-ultimately invigorating", crediting its success to "an emphasis on the music before anything else". The video was followed by an announcement of their upcoming eponymous debut extended play, which would contain four tracks, including two additional singles. On July 23, the group's second single, "Hype Boy", was released alongside a clip revealing the names of the members, further accompanied by four other music videos for the song, specific to the members' perspectives. "Hype Boy" became the longest-running song on the Billboard Global 200 by a K-pop female act, charting for 35 weeks. A music video for their b-side "Hurt" was released two days later. Pre-orders for the EP surpassed 444,000 copies in three days.

NewJeans in August 2022

On August 1, NewJeans digitally released their debut EP alongside its third single, "Cookie". The physical version of the EP was released on August 8 and sold over one million copies, becoming the best selling debut album by a K-pop female act in South Korea and the only debut album to achieve this since Circle Chart's establishment in 2011. New Jeans later won Best K-pop Album at the Korean Music Awards. The group made their broadcast debut on Mnet's M Countdown on August 4, performing all three singles. NewJeans garnered multiple rookie awards at various Korean music award shows, including the Golden Disc Awards, the Seoul Music Awards, the Korean Music Awards, the Melon Music Awards, and the Asia Artist Awards.

NewJeans released "Ditto" on December 19, 2022, as the first single from their first single album, OMG. "Ditto" became the longest-running number-one song on South Korea's Circle Digital Chart, topping the chart for thirteen weeks. It was NewJeans' first entry on both the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 82, and the UK Singles Chart, charting at number 95. OMG was released on January 2, 2023. Reviewers commended the album for its retro-style theme. It debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart, selling 700,000 copies in its first week of release. It became their first album to sell over one million copies, shortly before New Jeans also reached one million copies sold. OMG was accompanied by a second single of the same name, which went viral on TikTok. "OMG" peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming their highest-ranked song on the chart. In April 2023, NewJeans released "Zero" in collaboration with Coca-Cola to promote Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. In May 2023, they released a second single, "Be Who You Are (Real Magic)", in collaboration with Coca-Cola alongside Jon Batiste, J.I.D and Camilo.

NewJeans in November 2022

NewJeans held their first sold-out fan meeting, titled Bunnies Camp, at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium on July 1–2, 2023. The group released their second EP, Get Up, on July 21, 2023. The EP debuted at number two on the Circle Album Chart and sold 1.65 million copies in its first week of release, becoming the group's third consecutive album to sell over one million copies. It was supported by three singles: "Super Shy", "ETA", and "Cool with You". "Super Shy" topped the Circle Digital Chart, earning NewJeans their third number-one single in South Korea, and became their best-performing track on several international charts. The commercial success of the track lead to NewJeans achieving their first number one on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart. All the tracks received music videos, which featured collaborations with multiple brands and personalities, including IT company Apple, media franchise The Powerpuff Girls, South Korean actress Hoyeon, and Hong Kong actor Tony Leung. In August 2023, they had their first live performance in the United States at Lollapalooza, becoming the first K-pop girl group to perform at the festival. The group will release a remake of Kim Jong-seo's "Beautiful Restriction" for the soundtrack of A Time Called You on September 8, 2023.

Artistry

NewJeans's discography is primarily composed of pop and R&B midtempo melodies reminiscent of 1990s music; critics have also found hip hop, UK garage, Baltimore club, Jersey club, and moombahton elements in their music. The Guardian's Laura Snapes described their songs as "sleek and lethally hooky, yet playful and teeming with retro synths and experimental flourishes". Rhian Daly of NME commented that it is "hard not to hear elements" of 90s K-pop girl groups such as S.E.S. and Baby V.O.X in their discography. Music critic Kim Do-heon attributed NewJeans' success in part to their "carefree, laid-back and natural" sound, while Tamar Herman wrote in Vogue that their music "immediately changed up the face of South Korea's pop idol scene".

NewJeans' music is mainly produced by South Korean singers 250 and Park Jin-su (also known as FRNK), while the members often participate in songwriting. As the executive producer, Min Hee-jin selects all NewJeans' songs and is responsible for the recording process. Regarding the group's debut EP, Min said she "wanted to break the tacit formula of K-pop and make an album with the music I want". Min disliked "high-pitched parts, awkward raps that suddenly appear, and singing methods that feel uniform" and chose to record without guide vocals, allowing the members to develop their own singing styles. Four of the members have been credited for songwriting at least once: Danielle for "Attention" and "Super Shy", Hanni for "OMG" and "Hype Boy", Minji for "Ditto" and Haerin for "New Jeans".

Endorsements

NewJeans in an advertisement for Olens in 2023

NewJeans has been called a "mega blue chip" in the advertising industry, earning an estimated total of ₩10 billion by April 2023 according to Sports Chosun. The group represents fashion store Musinsa [ko], eyewear brand Carin, contact lens brand Olens, jewelry brand Stonehenge, and Levi's. They have served as global ambassadors for Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and LG Electronics' Gram laptop. All of the members became ambassadors for different fashion and beauty brands: Hanni for Gucci and Armani Beauty, Hyein for Louis Vuitton, Danielle for Burberry and YSL Beauty, Minji for Chanel Korea, and Haerin for Dior. In February 2023, NewJeans became public relations ambassadors of the city of Seoul. They were appointed honorary ambassadors for the 2023 Seoul Fashion Week, promoting local brands such as Ulkin, Kanghyuk, and Kusikhoc.

NewJeans has modeled for SK Telecom's "0 (영, Young)" campaign, promoting the iPhone 14 Pro, Shinhan Bank's "New Sol" campaign, endorsing the bank's mobile app Sol, Megastudy [ko]'s advertisements for their 2024 0 Won Mega Pass, 5252 by OiOi's pictorial for their signature down jacket, McDonald's Korea's commercials for their chicken burgers, and Nike's campaigns "Feel Your All", endorsing their leggings, and "Maxxed Out", commemorating Air Max Day. NewJeans also collaborated with Pinkfong to promote their song "Ninimo" and with Korea Craft and Design Foundation, an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, to promote hanji. In collaboration with both Musinsa and LG Electronics, the group released a limited edition of the Gram laptop with gadgets inspired by NewJeans' concept. Outfits matching the laptop were available to customers who had made a reservation for LG Electronics' pop-up store which opened in Seoul in January 2023 to promote the product.

Philanthropy

In December 2022, it was announced that NewJeans and ADOR would annually donate part of the profits from the group's album sales to The Snail of Love charity to fund cochlear implant surgery and speech therapy treatment for the hearing-impaired. In February 2023, NewJeans and ADOR donated ₩200 million (US$174,832.82) to the World Food Programme to help victims of the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake.

Impact

Fashion

NewJeans quickly established itself in the fashion industry thanks to their girl-next-door image and international appeal. The Business of Fashion said they "became an overnight fashion favorite", while Vogue called them an "exciting and welcome addition" to the 2023 Seoul Fashion Week. Some fashion designers have named NewJeans among the influences for their collections: Bach Mai for his pre-fall 2023 collection and Yoon Ahn for the fall 2023 ready-to-wear collection of her brand Ambush. After partnering with NewJeans in 2022, Musinsa reported that sales in the women's fashion category doubled compared to the previous year.

Members

• Minji (Hangul: 민지)
• Hanni (Hangul: 하니)
• Danielle (Hangul: 다니엘)
• Haerin (Hangul: 해린)
• Hyein (Hangul: 혜인)

Discography

Extended plays

• New Jeans (2022)
• Get Up (2023)

Filmography

• NewJeans Code in Busan (2022)

Videography

Music videos

Concerts

Awards and nominations

Listicles

World records

See also

In Spanish: NewJeans para niños

• List of best-selling girl groups